Las Vegas Shooting Discussion Turns to Bump Stocks

Following Sunday's shooting in Las Vegas, questions are still looming, especially surrounding the accessory found on several of the gunman's rifles.

"Bump-stocks" have been around for awhile now...popularity increased slightly a couple years ago but the use of them is still rare. The bump stock is simply a piece added to the stock of a rifle that allows the shooter to move the trigger at a faster rate than normal.

"It's kind of a novelty item that we don't see very many people using," Vantage Point Indoor Range instructor Frank Muller said.

"Shooters come at the sport from a different angle, some are really shooting for accuracy or shooting to see how far away they can shoot at, hit at a long distance with certain types of guns and some people want to train and shoot fast and see if they can stay accurate when they are shooting fast," Muller said.

Vantage Point initially allowed bump stocks to be used, but eventually felt they were just not safe enough at an indoor range.

"Some people were fine with using them but a lot of other people had problems with jam ups and stoppages. Or they had a little bit of a hard time hitting the target," Muller added.

"We all have to get more educated as to what these are, how they became available in the first place. Was it a regulatory misstep by ATF some number of years ago? And we all know and believe that fully auto weapons are illegal, and so is this a big gap that needs to be closed? And if so, how to close it? We're all just beginning to go through that analysis," Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said Thursday.

The National Rifle Association also announced their position that bump stocks should be subject to additional regulations in a statement Thursday.

"In the aftermath of the evil and senseless attack in Las Vegas, the American people are looking for answers as to how future tragedies can be prevented," the NRA CEO and executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action said in a joint statement.